Eden's values (by Alberto Peña)

Attached to one of the walls at Eden is a card with a phrase that sums up Eden:

Eden exists to enable people to achieve better, greater, more worthwhile things

I don’t know about you, but I like this a lot :D

As I mentioned in previous posts, Eden is guided by a set of values that all the “Edenites” understand, share and abide by. In fact, these values are decided together as a group, as they do with everything else :D All of Eden’s values are related to that phrase.

We build relationships
Eden is not just concerned with building software. Additionally, it is interested in building relationships of total trust with its clients. They are aware that they hold their reputation and livelihood in their hands.

Of course, they are also interested in their own relationships between edenites. In fact, what you will mostly see at Eden is smiles :D

We have a mindset of mutual respect
This is very important at Eden. There may be differences of opinion, but Eden never loses respect for other people.

Really, it’s amazing. In these 5 days there has not been a single lack of respect between edenites, and by lack of respect I am even referring to the typical Spanish joke of “será cabrón :)” [common Spanish joke that translates to “you bastard”]. Yet i saw an example on the part of the client, and I witnessed how it was nipped in the bud by the edenites with a warning.

We ask “why?”
Eden wants to add value for its business clients, and to do this, they have to be clear about their motivations.
Logically, if it is good for a client, it’s also good for Eden. This requires them to question their motivations in order to improve.

We craft excellence
Eden is a great team. They are very good at their job, and very responsible. This responsibility leads them to only ever deliver excellent code. If the functionality is not to the required standard, it is not delivered.

We are disciplined
Not disciplined in the sense of following orders, but disciplined in the sense of being responsible. They prefer to fix the root of problems rather than treat the symptoms.

We learn aggressively
All the members of Eden have a passion for their profession and are always learning (new languages, new techniques, etc.) And they share their learning with each other.

We give generously
Eden is truly generous. They engage with their communities (not just with software communities), they welcome visitors, encourage activities, etc.

If Eden is set up in Madrid, you’ll understand better what I mean. Nos lo vamos a pasar piruleta :D [Spanish phrase meaning: we’re going to have a lot of fun]

We value people
Eden does not allow projects and their due dates to interfere with the personal life of the edenites. Additionally, they encourage activities that strengthen personal relationships between edenites (for example, the showing of Avatar the other day)

I have to say that all this comes naturally. There is no “fuerza la amistad” [forced friendship]. They are just good people working together :)

We are honest and open, even when it’s hard
The trust between everyone at Eden allows for brutal honesty. If something is not working, they say so, whatever the cost.

Actually, in the week that I’ve spent with them the only time that there was a warning was in order to improve the working conditions of a client team. It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary, and the client team accepted it and acknowledged the problem.

We are humble
Eden is humble and the edenites are humble. They know that they are good at what they do, but they are also clear they can still be better. (Although right now I can’t see how :D ).

That’s all, what do you think? I hope that this gives an idea of what kind of a company Eden is (or what I understand Eden to be), but really it’s much better :) Seriously, you have to experience it to see for yourself. This tweet by Luismi Cavallé sums up pretty well how I feel after this week :D

[The tweet, also in Spanish, says, something about discovering that other, better worlds are possible, and that it’s natural, and that there is no going back.]